Athletics News

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Baylor finished in 45th place in the final 2012-13 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings released Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Baylor earned 498.00 points to record its 10th consecutive top-50 season in the all-sports sweepstakes, and the Bears placed fifth among Big 12 Conference institutions.

Baylor has recorded nine of its 12 highest finishes in the Cup's 20-year history over the past nine years. In addition to its school record-tying 25th-place finish following the 2011-12 "Year of the Bear," BU finished 25th in 2004-05, 31st in 2009-10, 32nd in 2005-06, 33rd in 2008-09, 35th in 2010-11, 38th in 2006-07 and 42nd in 2007-08. Prior to the 2004-05 academic year, Baylor's best Directors' Cup finishes were 39th in 1998-99 and 40th in 2001-02.

BU trailed only Oklahoma (No. 7), Texas (No. 13), Oklahoma State (No. 27) and Iowa State (No. 41) among Big 12 schools. The Bears finished in front of Big 12 rivals Texas Tech (No. 48), TCU (No. 50), Kansas (No. 58), West Virginia (No. 68) and Kansas State (No. 72). Baylor recorded 109.00 points in the fall, 149.00 in the winter and 240.00 in the spring, and the Bears' spring total ranked 36th nationally.
Baylor finished third among the Lone Star state's 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs for the second consecutive season. Stanford (1261.25) won the Directors' Cup for the 19th consecutive season, followed by Florida (1244.75) and UCLA (1227.25).

Baylor football earned a third consecutive bowl bid and won the 2012 Holiday Bowl, finishing the season with a four-game winning streak including a victory over No. 1 Kansas State. The men's basketball squad won the NIT to claim the first national tournament championship in the program's 107-year history.

All-told, Baylor advanced 17 of its 19 teams to postseason play and won five Big 12 Conference championships. The five conference titles were one shy of a school record and brought the Bears' all-time Big 12 total to 50 championships, which ranks fourth among current Big 12 teams. BU ranks second in the league with 41 titles claimed since 2003-04.